Dispensing closure systems for viscous food products, such as jellies, pastes, etc. are generally known. They typically include a closure body provided with a dispensing orifice of suitable dimension to permit passage of the food products.
Known dispensing closures for viscous food products are characterized by a number of disadvantages. For example, such closure systems do not provide for dispensing of a ribbon of product in a manner that maximizes the amount of product and that reduces the amount of user effort required to spread the product after dispensing. Another example of the disadvantages associated with known dispensing closure systems for viscous food products is that such dispensing closure systems typically lack the capability to make a clean “cut-off” of product immediately after dispensing has occurred. As such, use of such dispensing closures is often accompanied by spillage, product waste, and possibly unsanitary conditions as the product left on the closure system may be exposed to ambient conditions and become spoiled.
This problem stems in part from the geometrical limitations imposed on many dispensing closure systems. Typically, the transition from the container geometry, which is typically a round container opening, to the geometry of the dispensing orifice is characterized by abrupt transitions in the internal closure surfaces. The closure geometry is also related to the ability of the closure to provide a clean “cut-off” of product. Since product “cut-off” is a result of the vacuum created when a squeezable container is reformed to its original shape, it is desirable to minimize the volume within the closure system in order to maximize the amount of “suck-back” that occurs when the vacuum is created and thus maximize the retractive force applied to the extrudate of product to make a clean “cut-off.” It would therefore be desirable to provide a dispensing closure system which provides favorable flow transitions from the container geometry to the dispensing orifice, yet which a enables sufficient “suck-back” to foster a clean “cut-off” for a variety of products of different viscosities and flow properties.
It would also be advantageous if such an improved closure system could accommodate bottles, containers, or packages which have a variety of shapes and that are constructed from a variety of materials. Further, it would be desirable if such an improved system could accommodate efficient, high-quality, large volume manufacturing techniques with a reduced product reject rate to produce a system with consistent operating characteristics.